Moon Exploration and Science News

December 30, 2013

Laser Demonstration Reveals Bright Future for Space Communication
Greenbelt MD (SPX) Dec 27, 2013
The completion of the 30-day Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration or LLCD mission has revealed that the possibility of expanding broadband capabilities in space using laser communications is as bright as expected. Hosted aboard the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer known as LADEE, for its ride to lunar orbit, the LLCD was designed to confirm laser communication capabilities from a distance of almost a quarter-of-a-million miles. In addition to demonstrating record-breaking da ... read more

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China's moon rover "sleeps" through lunar night The moon rover and lander of China's Chang'e 3 lunar probe mission will "sleep" during the lunar night, enduring extreme low temperatures on the lunar surface. According to Wu Fenglei of the B ... more		Dwarf Planet Ceres - 'A Game Changer in the Solar System' In March of 2015, NASA's Dawn mission will arrive at the dwarf planet Ceres, the first of the smaller class of planets to be discovered and the closest to Earth. Ceres, which orbits the Sun in the a ... more		Mars Express heading towards daring flyby of Phobos Late this month, ESA's Mars Express will make the closest flyby yet of the Red Planet's largest moon Phobos, skimming past at only 45 km above its surface. The flyby on 29 December will be so ... more
				China's Yutu "naps", awakens and explores Beijing (XNA) Dec 21, 2013 China's moon rover, Yutu (Jade Rabbit), continued exploring after a "nap", according to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defence ... more		China's moon rover continues lunar survey after photographing lander China's first moon rover, Yutu, or Jade Rabbit, continued patrol explorations on the lunar surface after taking photos of the lander for the fifth and final time early on Sunday. According to ... more

NASA Releases New Earthrise Simulation Video NASA has issued a new visualization of the events leading to one of the iconic photographs of the 20th Century - Earth rising over the moon captured by the crew of the Apollo 8 mission. The photo k ... more		Will the Moon be carved-up? Experts forecast that the Moon will become sort of the seventh continent of Earth by the middle of the 21st century. People will reclaim the polar regions and build residential areas there. In this ... more		North Korea to soon unveil 'next-stage' nuclear plans, Kim says Greenland dispute is 'wake-up call' for Europe: Macron Trump warns US to end support for Iraq if Maliki returns		Most Chang'e-3 science tools activated Six out of the eight pieces of scientific equipment deployed to the moon with the Chang'e-3 lunar mission have been activated by scientists and are functioning properly, according to scientists work ... more
				NASA's Deep Space Network: The Original 'Wireless Network' Turns 50 NASA's Deep Space Network, the world's largest and most powerful communications system for "talking to" spacecraft, will reach a milestone on Dec. 24: the 50th anniversary of its official creation. ... more		Clay-Like Minerals Found on Icy Crust of Europa A new analysis of data from NASA's Galileo mission has revealed clay-type minerals at the surface of Jupiter's icy moon Europa that appear to have been delivered by a spectacular collision with an a ... more

CubeSats, SmallSats and MicroSats

International Conference on Protection of Materials and Structures From Space Environment

Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison & Memory Foam Mattress Review

Chinese sci-fi writers laud moon landing The landing of China's first moon rover on the lunar surface on Sunday morning has had the nation's sci-fi writers cheering for fiction's gradual unfolding into reality. Chinese legend has it that C ... more		China plans to launch Chang'e-5 in 2017 China plans to launch lunar probe Chang'e-5 in 2017, according to the State Administration of Science, Technology and Industry for National Defense. "The development of Chang'e-5 is proceeding smoot ... more		NASA advances space based tracking of marine debris Trump-era trade stress leads Western powers to China Trump troop deployments in US cities cost nearly $500 mn in 2025		China's Lunar Lander May Provide Additional Science for NASA Spacecraft After sending 12 humans to the moon's surface during the Apollo Program, NASA remains committed to lunar science. Building on modern missions such as Clementine and Lunar Prospector and recent missi ... more
				Chinaese moon rover and lander photograph each other China's first moon rover and lander took photos of each other on the moon's surface Sunday night, a move that marks a complete success of the country's Chang'e-3 lunar probe mission. Ma Xingru ... more		Mining the moon is pie in the sky for China: experts China's moon rover will survey for minerals on a dusty, barren crater named the Bay of Rainbows, but experts say there may be no pot of gold on the Earth's natural satellite. ... more

Curious Results from Mars

Mars One mission: one way ticket to new life

Mars Express heading towards daring flyby of Phobos

Clay-Like Minerals Found on Icy Crust of Europa

Cassini Spacecraft Obtains Best Views of Saturn Hexagon

Model Suggests Ocean Currents Shape Europa's Icy Shell in Ways Critical for Potential Habitats

The Sounds of New Horizons

On the Path to Pluto, 5 AU and Closing

SwRI study finds that Pluto satellites' orbital ballet may hint of long-ago collisions

China's moon rover "sleeps" through lunar night

Will the Moon be carved-up?

NASA Releases New Earthrise Simulation Video

	Chang'e-3 probe moves closer to the moon China's lunar probe Chang'e-3 entered an orbit closer to the moon on Tuesday night. Following an order from the Beijing Aerospace Control Center, the probe descended from the 100 km-high lunar ... more		First Rock Dating Experiment Performed on Mars Although researchers have determined the ages of rocks from other planetary bodies, the actual experiments-like analyzing meteorites and moon rocks-have always been done on Earth. Now, for the first ... more		Hubble discovers water vapour venting from Jupiter's moon Europa The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has discovered water vapour erupting from the frigid surface of Jupiter's moon Europa, in one or more localised plumes near its south pole. Europa is alread ... more		Ancient crater could hold clues about moon's mantle Researchers from Brown University and the University of Hawaii have found some mineralogical surprises in the Moon's largest impact crater. Data from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper that flew aboard Indi ... more

Gold soars towards $5,600 as Trump rattles sabre over Iran

Online platforms offer filtering to fight AI slop; EU lawmakers want AI to pay for using copyrighted work

Electron ordering mapped in quantum material with cryogenic 4D-STEM

Minerals in giant impact crater may be clues to moon's makeup, origin		Silent Orbit for China's Moon Lander		'Solutions' necessary for rocket accidents		Turkey keen on space cooperation with China		China's most moon-like place
LADEE Instruments Healthy and Ready for Science		Model Suggests Ocean Currents Shape Europa's Icy Shell in Ways Critical for Potential Habitats		China launches first moon rover mission		Commentary: Lunar probe boosts "Chinese dream"		Designer: moon rover uses cutting-edge technology

Moon gardens: NASA to sow first seeds of future habitat

Helping China To The Moon

Japanese firm describes proposed 'power belt' for the moon

China pursues "zero window" launch for lunar probe

Amidst and Beyond the Rings

Spotlight on China's Moon Rover

China names moon rover "Yutu"

We're Going to the Moon!

NASA Spacecraft Begins Collecting Lunar Atmosphere Data

NASA Instrument Determines Hazards of Deep-Space Radiation

Rediscovered Apollo data gives first measure of how fast Moon dust piles up

Big Boost for China's Moon Lander

UNH scientists document, quantify deep-space radiation hazards

Martian moon samples will have bits of Mars

Mission to Mars moon could be a sample-return twofer

NASA Cassini Spacecraft Provides New View of Saturn and Earth

NASA's GRAIL Mission Puts a New Face on the Moon

UCF Lands NASA-Funded Center, Linchpin for Future Space Missions

Multiple Missions Will Get China Moving On Mars

Moon mission yields clues to face of 'man in the moon'

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